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TOMMY MCLAIN

“SWEET DREAMS”

(Don Gibson)

MSL 197

No. 15    August 20, 1966

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In the mid-’60s, Tommy Mclain played bass with Clint West and the Fabulous Boogie Kings, a hot band

known throughout South Lousiana.     Floyd Soileau, the big cheese at Jin Records, had been cutting

regionally successful tracks on some configurations of the band ever since the label’s inception in 1958.

Clint and some of the guys had laid out numbers like “Jail Bird” and “Take A Ride” as Bob & The Veltones.

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Mclain, striking out on his  own, cut a swamp-pop rendition of  Don Gibson’s creation/Patsy Cline’s country classic, “Sweet

Dreams.”     He had a  few hundred copies pressed, and tried to persuade local record stores to stock

his disk.   The proprietor of the Modern Record Shop in Alexandria, Louisiana, was soon reporting to

Soileau that McLain’s vanity pressing was selling quite well.    When Floyd realized that McLain was in

Clint West’s band, which was already under contract to the Jin label, he had Tommy re-record “Sweet

Dreams” for his Jin label, and used the uncredited Boogie Kings as back-up.

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Soileau had a gut feeling that there was something wrong with McLain’s rendering, according to John

Broven’s South to Lousiana, so he shelved the disk for several months.     McLain  pestered him about

the release date until he finally issued the lopsided, slip-slidin’ “Sweet Dreams.”     When soaring  sales of the 45 outstripped Jin’s ability to manufacture and distribute, arrangements were made with

Jamie Records to create MSL.    The new Jamie-distributed company would be owned by Soileau, Harold

Lipsuis, and Huey P Meaux.

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Tommy Mclain  failed to find a successful follow-up.     Covers of  Ray Charles’ “Sticks And Stones,”

Bobby Charles’  “Before  I Grow Too Old,” and the Righteous Brothers’ “Try To Find Another Man” only

fared well regionally.

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McLain is still active in the Texas  and Louisiana regions with his band Mule Train.     An   album and a

few singles appeared on the Starflite label in 1979.